FEBRUARY 2014 SUNRAYS | 35
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
Celebrating Amazing Lives
I celebrate my parents by remembering the amazing lives they
lived and sharing them with my family and friends. As the
oldest of eight kids, I have a lot of folks to share them with!
Many of my friends have told me they wished they had met
my mom. She was a really funny lady (who didn’t try to be,
she just was). A fiery, red-headed Irish woman, she married
a generous and kind-hearted man. The worst thing she could
say about him was that he was German (actually Bavarian).
She was born Mary Catherine, a name she hated, so she took
the name Delores to emulate her movie idol, Delores Del Rio.
I didn’t even know her real name until I was an adult! Mom
loved to tell anyone listening what a rotten kid I had been,
much to my chagrin. When I protested, she’d say, “Well, you
were!” But she said it with a twinkle in her eye. She worked
at a shipyard riveting bolts during World War II, while I was
a baby. Dad kept the West Coast safe by monitoring enemy air
movements through a new thing called radar. They were and
always will be the greatest!
— Sharon Deane Lesikar, N44
RIGHT: Sharon’s parents, Delores and John Deane, taken in
1964 in their square dancing outfits. They went out dancing
every Saturday night.
Josey’s Quilt
T
his picture is of a quilt that I made
shortly after my 17-year-old cat,
Josey, passed away in March. She
was a sweet, funny, lovable cat and we
miss her.
We moved here from Minnesota eight
years ago and told her many times that
she was going to be a “Texas Cat”—her
ears would perk up when we said that.
When you look very closely at the quilt,
you will see a tiny Texas hat perched
on her head!
For the quilt, I first printed her likeness
on silk fabric because her fur felt silken.
I placed her on a background of silk and
velvet fabrics because she loved to tunnel
under the fabrics, ribbons, and lace that
I often have on the table in my sewing
studio. Up in the sky, I positioned a large
heart to signify that she was loved, and
stars because she was always a star in
our lives. After I finished the quilt, I re-
alized that I should have added a crown
because she was definitely the Queen of
the House!
She loved to sit behind my laptop as I
was working on it, so I have hung her
quilt in that spot.
—Jan Swanda, N26
